Shoe sewing machine



June 18, 1940. J. M. MATHEU 2,204,901

SHOE SEWING MACHINE v Filed April 22, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 v I I Q 7 Z'7zve mfor' VJQZZZ; 444% 7 June 18, 1940- J. M. MATHEU ,901

I SHOE SEWING MACHINE Filed Aptil 22,- 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet '2 Patented June 18, 1940 2,204,901

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHOE sawmo MACHINE James M. Matheu, Queens Village, N. Y., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough of Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application April 22, 1939, Serial No. 269,435

11 Claims. (Cl. 112 62) The present invention relates to shoe sewing hold the sole more eifectively. To assist the opmachines, and more particularly to improvements erator in presenting the shoe properly, accordin machines for sewing the upper to the sole of ing to a further feature of the invention, the me.- a shoe or slipper while unsupported on a last. chine is equipped with an edge gage operating 5 In sewing a shoe or slipper off the last, it is on the upper along the seam line beyond the line 5 common practice to provide means for supporting of needle operation, such gage being of advantage the inner surface of the shoe sole against the whether the channel guide is actuable towards or thrust of the work penetrating instruments, parfrom the sole guide or stationarily mounted on ticularly where curved instruments are employed. the machine frame.

The usual manner of sewing is to hold the margin Other features of the invention consist in cer- 10 of the upper against the edge of the sole and to tain devices, combinations, and arrangements of sew through the upper and sole edge, the seam parts hereinafter described and claimed, the adpreferably lying in a channel formed about the vantages of which will be readily understood from sole without having the stitches pass through the the following description taken in connection with inner surface of the shoe. Heretofore it has been the accompanying drawings. lo

necessary, while sewing in this manner, to present In the drawings Figure 1 is a view in side elevaa shoe to the sewing machine with the sole in tion of a portion of the shoe sewingmachine emapproximately vertical position where the operabodying the features of the present invention; tion of the sewing instruments is partly obscured Figure 2 is a detail plan view, partly in section,

from the operators view by the upper. Accordtaken along the line 2-2 of Figure 1, illustrating 20 ingly, unless the upper has already been ternthe operation of the stitch-forming and workporarily secured to the sole, it is diflicult to mafeeding devices including the sole guide; Figure 3 nipulate the upper properly while the sewing prois a view in side elevation of the parts illustrated gresses. If the upper is already secured to the in Figure 2; and Figure 4 is a detail view of the sole, a more complicated machine is required for sole guide indicating the positions of the sole 25 the sewing operation inasmuch as a support for and upper of a shoe being operated upon. the inner surface of the sole may only be pro- The machine illustrated in the drawings is a vided by means of an elongated horn entering curved hook needle chainstitch machine for sewthe ankle opening of the shoe. ing the margin of a shoe or slipper upper 2 to the The objects of the present invention, therefore, edge of a sole 4 while unsupported on a last, the 30 are to provide a simple and easily operated maparts being directed manually towards the sewing chine for sewing shoes while unsupported on a point during operation of the machine. The last in which the operator's line of sight is not obmachine, except as hereinafter described, is simiscured by the shoe upper and with which a better lar to that disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent to grade of work may be produced without the exer- Eppler No. 1,108,560 of August 25, 1914, the pat- 36 cise of unusual skill or ability. ented machine being arranged to sew the upper With these and other objects in view. the presto the sole of a shoe while supported on a last. ent invention contemplates the provision in a In addition to the curved hook needle indicated curved hook needle sewing machineof the type at 6, the machine is provided with an awl or feed 40 in which the hook portion of the needle operates point B, a looper l0, and a channel guide I2. Like 40 through an arc below the center of needle curvathe patented machine, the illustrated machine is ture, of means passing between the margin of also provided with a welt guide, secured to a carthe upper and the edge of the sole in advance of rier l3 pivotally mounted at I4 on the frame of the point of operation of the needle to support the machine and actuable towards and from the 5 the shoe sole substantially horizontally where work by means of a link l5 connected with a slide both margin of the upper and point of emergence 16 on which is slidably mounted a clutch box l8. of the needle from the sole is visible from the To actuate the carrier, the clutch box is confront of the machine at all times. As hereinnected by means of a link 20 to a cam lever 22. after described, the supporting means is in the The lever 22 as well as the mechanisms for actuform of a p d u the oblique p rti ating the stitch-forming devices are operated 50 of which extends between the margin of the from cams on a main sewing shaft 24. The slide shoe upper and the edge of the sole, and the low- I6 is pressed yieldingly in a direction to move the or sole supporting portion of which is horizontal. carrier l3 towards the work by a spring 25 lled Preferably the machine is provided with a chanaround a stud 28 on the frame. To assist in guidnel guide actuable towards and from the sole to ing the shoe during sewing as in the patented ma- 55 chine, a hunter is mounted on a slide 80 arranged to be pressed yieldingly in a forward direction as by a spring 32 connected at one end to the frame and at the other end to the slide 30. Both slides l6 and 30 are locked intermittently during sewing and released to accommodate successive positions .of the work. To look the slides l6 and 30, a pair of clutch'rolls 34, 36 are provided which press respectively against the slides, when engaged by a wedge member 38 carried by a cam actuated lever 40. As thus far described, the machine is the same as the machine of the patent referred to. a

In the illustrated machine, the hooked portion of the curved needle 6 which penetrates the work and which carries the loop of thread is arranged to oscillate about a stud 42 through an arc, the active length of which is substantially beneath the center of the stud, the curvature of the needle being concentric therewith. The advantage of such an arrangement with this type of machine is that the point of the needle, during the work penetrating stroke, first engages the upper and holds it in position along a shoulder or rib at the edge of the sole, and the needle emerges from a channel, indicated at 44 (Fig. 2) formed in the sole, in clear view of the operator, so that improper operation of the machine may quickly be detected. Heretofore in sewing a shoe while unsupported on a last, with machines of this type, it has been found desirable to secure the upper margin entirely around the edge of the sole before sewing, and to support the inside of the upper by means of a horn extending through the ankle opening of the shoe so that the parts will not be dispensed during sewing.

According to the present invention, the necessity for employing a horn in this type of machine has been eliminated, the sole being supported by a Z-shaped sole guide46 mounted on the slide 30 which formerly supported the hunter in the patented machine. To locate the sole guide in proper relation to the stitch-forming devices, it is secured to a block 48 which, in turn, is bolted to the forward end of the slide 30. In use, the oblique portion of the Z extends between the margin of the upper and the edge of the sole in advance of the point of needle operation, and the lower portion supports the inner surface of the sole beneath the needle stud 42. To support the sole edge rigidly beneath the needle, that portion of the sole guide inside the shoe extends laterally beyond the plane of the needle. Between the oblique portion of the guide and the upper portion, there is a space for the upper margin which aids in guiding the upper properly and forms a gage for the edge of the upper. The spring 32 and the locking roll 36 cause the sole guide 46 to be pressed yieldingly against the sole edge while being fed and to be locked during the retraction of the threaded needle from the work.

Instead of securing the upper margin entirely around the edge of the sole before sewing, as in prior machines of this type, with the present machine the upper and sole may be presented to the machine separately until the first few stitches are inserted and the upper is then directed to the guide 46 in proper relation to insure that the sole at a number of spaced points as by wire staples 41 (Fig. 2). When so attached, the oblique portion of the sole guide 46 between the withdraw as the needle enters the work. During the back feeding movement of the channel guide, the sole guide is still locked and the channel guide i2 is retracted a short distance from the channel 44 in the sole so as to avoid any tendency of displacing the work, the channel guide mechanism being the same as in the patented machine and including a cam lever 49. The channel guide cooperates with the sole guide at other times to hold the shoe in proper relation to the needle and awl while the sole guide is locked in position. 5

To assist further in supporting the shoe being operated upon, there is secured to the carrier l3 an edge gage 50 contacting the upper along the line of the seam beyond the point of operation of the needle. The edge gage is locked and unlocked by the wedging member 38,- and the locking roll 34 simultaneously with the locking and unlocking of the sole guide. The mechanism for retracting the slide 16 and the edge gage 50 acts 'in each sewing cycle just before the feeding movement of the feed point so that the edge gage offers no resistance as the shoe is advanced a stitch length.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated, and a specific embodiment having been described, what is claimed is:

1. A machine for sewing the upper to the sole of a shoe while unsupported on a last having, in combination, stitch-forming and work-feeding devices including a curved needle formed with a hooked work penetrating portion arranged to oscillate through an arcuate path, the active length of which is substantially beneath the center of needle curvature, and means passing between the margin of the upper and the edge of the sole in advance of the point of needle operation to support the sole approximately horizontally in the path of the needle.

2. A machine for sewing the upper to the sole of a shoe while unsupported on a last having, in combination, stitch-forming and work-feeding devices including a curved needle formed with a hooked work penetrating portion arranged to oscillate through an arcuate path, the active length of which is substantially beneath the center of needle curvature, and a Z-shaped sole guide beneath the center of needle curvature, the oblique portion of which guide extends between the margin of the upper and the edge of the sole in advance of the point of needle operation, and the lower portion of which supports the inner surface of the sole approximately horizontally with the edge of the sole in the path of the needle.

3. A machine for sewing the upper to the sole of a shoe while unsupported on a last having, in combination, stitch-forming and work-feeding devices including a curved needle formed with a hooked work penetrating portion arranged to oscillate through an arcuate path, 'the active length of which is substantially beneath the center of needle curvature and a Z-shaped sole guide beneath the center of needle curvature, the 0blique portion of which guide extends'between the margin of the upper and the edge of the sole in advance of the point of needle operation, and the lower portion of which extends laterally beneath the needle to support that portion of the sole engaged by the needle.

8 4. A machine for sewing the upper to the sole of a shoe while unsupported on a last having, in combination, stitch-forming and work-feeding devices including a curved needle formed with a hooked work penetrating portion arranged to oscillate through an arcuate path, the active length of which is substantially beneath the center of needle curvature, means passing between the margin of the upper and the edge of the sole in advance of the point of needle operation to support the sole approximately horizontally in the path of'the needle, and a channel guide actuable towards and from the sole support means to hold and release the sole during each sewing cycle.

5. A machine for sewing the upper to the sole of a shoe while unsupported on a last having, in combination, stitch-forming and work-feeding devices including a curved needle, a sole guide passing between the margin of the upper and the edge of the sole to support the sole in the path of the needle, a channel guide cooperating with the sole guide to hold the sole opposite the sole guide in advance of the point of needle operations, and an edge gage operating on the needle operations.

6. A machine for sewing the upper to the sole of a shoe while unsupported on a last having, in combination, stitch-forming and work-feeding devices including a curved needle, a sole guide passing between the margin of the upper and the edge of the sole to support the sole in the path of the needle, a channel guide, and an edge gage operating on the upper along the seam line beyond the point of needle operations.

7. A machine for sewing the upper to the sole of a shoe while unsupported on a last having, in combination, stitch-forming and work-feeding devices including a curved needle, a sole guide passing between the margin of the upper and the edge of the sole to support the sole in the path of the needle, a channel guide, an edge gage operating on the upper beyond the point of needle operations, a carrier on which the edge gage is mounted arranged for movement towards and from the upper, means for locking the edge gage intermittently against movement away from the upper, and means for actuating the channel guide during sewing operations to hold the sole in position while the edge gage is locked.

8. A machine for sewing the upper to the sole of a shoe while unsupported on a last having, in combination, stitch-forming and work-feeding devices including a curved needle, a sole guide passing between 'the margin of the upper and the edge of the sole to support the sole in the path of the needle, 9. channel guide, an edge gage upper along the seam line beyond the point of,

operating on the upper beyond the point of needle operations, a carrier on which the edge gage is mounted arranged for movement towards and from the upper, means for locking the edge gage intermittently against movement away from the upper, mechanism for actuating the channel guide during sewing operations to hold and release the sole opposite the sole guide, and means for actuating the sole guide to press yieldingly against the sole edge while the sole is released and for looking the sole guide while the sole is held by the channel guide.

9. A machine for sewing the upper to the sole of a shoe while unsupported on a last having, in combination, stitch-forming and work-feeding devices including a curved needle, a sole guide passing between the margin of the upper and the edge of the sole to support the sole in the path of the needle, a channel guide, an edge gage operating on the upper beyond the point of needle operations, a carrier on which the edge gage is mounted arranged for movement towards and from the upper, means for locking the edge gage intermittently against movement away from the upper, a feed point, mechanism for actuating the channel guide during sewing operations to hold and release the sole opposite the sole guide, means for actuating the edge gage to press yieldingly against the upper and to be locked while the sole is held by the channel guide, and means for retracting the edge gage during feeding movement of the feed point.

10. A machine for sewing the upper to the sole of a shoe while unsupported on a last having, in combination, stitch-forming and workfeeding devices including a curved needle, a sole guide, passing between the margin of the upper and the edge of the sole to support the' sole. in the path of the needle, 9. channel guide, a feed slide on which the channel guide is mounted, mechanism for actuating the channel guide to hold the sole during feeding movement of the feed slide and to release the sole during back feeding movement of the feed slide, and means for actuating the sole guide to press yieldingly against the sole edge during feeding movement of the feed slide and for locking the sole guide during back feeding movement.

11. A machine for sewing the upper to the sole of a shoe while unsupported on a last having, in combination, stitch-forming and work-feeding devices including a curved needle, a sole guide, said guide being Z-shaped with the oblique portion extending between the margin of the upper and the edge of the sole with the lower portion supporting the sole in the path of the needle and with the upper portion forming with the oblique portion a guide for the margin of the upper, and a channel guide cooperating with the sole guide to hold the sole.

, JAMES M. MATHEU.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 2,20u,9o1. June 1 19m.

JAMES Nn MATHEU.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 2, first column, line 56, for the word "dispensed" read ---displaced; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the' same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 27th day of August, 7 A. D. 191K) Henry Van Arsdale, (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

